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That's part of why I think the club is getting such a hose job... they not only got the initial clearance on him from MLB, but apparently asked for a higher degree of verification before putting the money on the table.

Not only do they not have recourse through MLB's standard contract language to get any of the bonus back, but he's suspended for the year, so they lose a year that would obviously be REALLY important to have to get him on the faster track.

Comment

-Ok, here's the thing, I have a wealth of information on Luebke, but a lot of it is conflicting. In BA prospect handbook 2008, he is described as a soft-tossing lefty. In more recent stuff I have read he is described as a lefty with above average stuff. So yeah. Rincon and Galvez just seem like really talented yet raw guys.

But the Padres' vice president of scouting and player development doesn't think Latos should be promoted to the major league roster right now.

Soon, but not immediately.

“He's the real deal,” Fuson said this week of the 21-year-old right-hander. “He's got stuff and angle. He's still learning, but he's learning fast.

“But I'm a believer in never more than doubling up the inning load of a young pitcher from one year to the next. Last season, he worked 60 innings (actually 56).

“If we called him up now, he'd run out of innings in August. We can control his innings in the minor leagues. In his last outing, we held him to 48 pitches over five innings.

“You can't do that in the major leagues. The only goal there is to win. I'd prefer to wait until after the trading deadline or mid-August to promote Latos.”

That said, given the state of the starting pitching at the major league level, discussions regarding Latos advancing quicker continue among the Padres.

Latos is 4-1 with a 1.89 ERA in seven starts for Double-A San Antonio, where he averages one strikeout per inning pitched (38). Latos recently was named to the United States team for the July 12 Futures All-Star Game.

Before being promoted to San Antonio, Latos, whose start to the season was delayed by an ankle sprain, was 3-0 with an 0.36 ERA in 25 1/3 innings at low Single-A Fort Wayne.

Strong pitching

Latos is not the only pitcher on the move in the Padres' system.

Tim Stauffer recently was promoted from San Antonio (1.89 ERA in 12 appearances) to Triple-A Portland.

Left-hander Cory Luebke was promoted from Single-A Lake Elsinore (8-2, 2.34 ERA in 14 starts) to San Antonio after being the California League's starting pitcher in the California-Carolina Leagues All-Star Game.

Right-hander Nick Schmidt, who had elbow reconstruction surgery shortly after being picked in the first round of the 2007 draft, advanced from low Single-A Fort Wayne to Lake Elsinore.

Stauffer, 27, the Padres' first-round pick in 2003, appears to be back on the radar after missing all of the 2008 season following surgery to his right shoulder. Stauffer appeared briefly with the Padres from 2005 to 2007 with a 4-7 record and 6.37 ERA in 18 games (17 starts).

“He's been looking good,” Fuson said. “His secondary stuff, the slider and change-up, have looked very good and he's using the change more than before.”